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Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category

Poignant and Inspiring!

Dog Bone Soup by Bette A. Stevens is not just the story of Shawn and his struggle to get a decent life, it is a family saga of adventures, sacrifices, togetherness and resilience. It is inspiring as well as poignant, a rare combination to create. Henrietta emerges to be a wonderful mother, giving all the care and attention to her kids though she had zero moral support from her self-centered and alcoholic husband, more interested in watching T.V. than looking after his own children.

The story is set in the 50’s when moccasins could be freely used to discipline children! Despite the challenges of poverty and meagre food, nobody has any complaints except Mr.Daniels. Life was hard and Shawn being the eldest in the family suffers the most yet he stands like a rock when he is old enough to handle his father’s violence.

A streak of thin light shimmers throughout the story, assuring the reader that struggles bring the best out of us. The hope never dies, as kind people keep trickling in to provide work and life-time lessons to Shawn and Willie. Characterisation has been handled very well and one person who stands out is Mrs Ashley, an old lady with the heart of gold, a book lover who fed the poor boys, read stories to them and even taught them how to use a typewriter when they accompanied their uncle to help in cutting the trees.

This book is relevant for the present generation for two reasons—one it acquaints them with history and the way people strived to wriggle out of domestic violence, lack of love and tough situations. Two, how comfortable life is today for children with no fear of moccasins! ~Balroop Singh, author

Take a ‘Look Inside’ and grab a copy of DOG BONE SOUP (available in paperback $10.99 and eBook $3.99 OR purchase paperback and download eBook version for #FREE) at YOUR AMAZON today http://bit.ly/1HGpCsZ

Find out more about Maine author/illustrator Bette A. Stevens and check out her books (children’s literature, children’s activity book and fiction for ages 10-adult) at http://viewauthor.at/BetteAStevens

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I’m honored to welcome guest author Kim Cox who is here today to tell us about her new book. She’ll also give us insight into writing a series. Read on to find out all about it and discover how to enter Kim’s giveaway to win a gift card or eBook, too! ~Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com

Writing the Series: Style & Profile

Books so far: ALL THIS TIME and BEFORE WE WED, and coming in 2018, FOR THE DEFENSE

ALL THIS TIME, book one, was supposed to be a stand-alone, simple marriage of convenience, best friends, short contemporary romance. I’m not sure why but I can’t write a book in just one genre thus the romantic suspense and paranormal mystery books I’ve written. Short stories, yes, I can make it happen, but it just doesn’t happen in my novels. At least, not so far. I have a couple of other romance books in mind, so we’ll see what the future holds on that score.

The first book has four strong female characters and somewhere near the end of writing book one, I decided to make it a series, giving two of the other females their own books. Since Sarah started dating Jon near the end of book one, she was chosen for the next book. However, I came up with the storyline for book three before book two’s story came to me.

Before I could write book two, BEFORE WE WED, I had to figure out the storyline for these two characters. Normally, for me, the story comes to me first and then I find my characters. The reason it came to me the other way this time was because I was using characters from the first book.

So, the what ifs started. Jon Clayton owned a body shop so what if he’s arrested for some type of crime. What type of crime could he be involved in? He owned an auto shop, so what about letting him get arrested for stealing stolen goods and running a chop shop (slang for stealing cars or car parts and selling them off).

Okay, I do watch a lot of cop shows but this came from someone I knew once who was arrested for this. I didn’t know him personally or well, but he was the dad of a girl I went to school with. I remember how devastated she and her family was over his arrest. They’d had no idea.

Then I had to come up with where to start the book. Then I thought how awful it would be if they were getting married when he was arrested. After that was decided, the title of BEFORE WE WED just came to me.

Book 3, FOR THE DEFENSE is Lynsi Patterson’s and Jaxon Montgomery’s story. They first meet in book 2 when Lynsi finds a lawyer to represent Jon. The storyline for this story came from a news article I read about a woman who’d been wrongly incarcerated for something like twenty years, but was being released because a witness, one that’s testimony convicted her, was found to have lied about everything. It came out after the witness died that she’d lied.

So, I thought, what if there was more of a reason than someone lying but there was someone who’d paid her to lie and who didn’t want the truth coming out. This someone is willing to do what it takes to keep the secret, even murder again.

Now I’m thinking about writing two more books in this series, sort of spin offs from book two. One of the two books would be about Kate and Liam Roberts’ witness protection. The other would be Kara Martin Lewis (Sarah’s twin) finding love again and her small Georgia inn. I haven’t made up my mind yet, so stay tuned.

I have so many books I want to write that I’m not sure I’ll have time to write the others already planned and write those two new ideas that came to me recently while writing BEFORE WE WED.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Just as Sarah Martin and Jon Clayton say their vows, the police crash the wedding to arrest the groom. Jon is terrified and Sarah is heartbroken. Thankfully, their friends support them emotionally and help find Jon an excellent attorney.

When evidence of John’s guilt is found, he swears he’s innocent. But how can he prove it? As if an arrest and pending trial aren’t bad enough, his ex-wife refuses to let him near their seven-year-old son, and has their shared custody agreement rescinded as part of his bail agreement. But when Jon-Jon is injured, Jon breaks the agreement and his bail is revoked.

Sarah sees strange men in Jon’s business one night. One follows her home and attacks her. When Jon finds out, he pushes her way to protect her, but it doesn’t deter her loyalty to him or the attacker’s determination to killer her. Will the enemy get to her?

Is Jon truly innocent, and does he have no idea how the damaging evidence found its way into his business? Are there more sinister people involved? Will Sarah find the evidence she needs to clear him, or will she find out he’s fooled them all? If someone else is framing Jon, who is it and what are their motives?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An author of Mystery, Suspense, Paranormal, and Romance, Kim Cox lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her chainsaw artist husband, their West Highland White Terriers, (Scooter and Harley) and an adopted Yorkie/Maltese mix (Candi). She’s also a mother and grandmother.

Kim is published in novels, short stories and articles. Her published works consist of Romantic Suspense Novels, a Paranormal Mystery series, and short stories.

Besides writing, cover design, and publishing, Kim presently works a full-time position outside the home as MIS Specialist for a Workforce Development company.

She is a graduate of Writer’s Digest’s Writing to Sell Fiction and NRI’s Fiction Writing, and has associate degrees in the fields of Office Systems Technology and Web Technologies.

New review for DOG BONE SOUP!
Thanks to talented author Cathleen Townsend for a lovely surprise! By the way, friends, DOG BONE SOUPis currently on sale for only 99c/99p thru June 30, 2017~Bette A. Stevenshttp://www.4writersandreaders.com

Dog bone soup was the meal Shawn hated most at his house. Not only because the soup was weak and thin, but because they had to eat like this to put money away. And they had to hide it, too, since if Shawn’s dad got wind of it, he’d take it and blow it on liquor and women.

Shawn worked whenever he could, after school, Saturdays, and summers. His mom worked any housecleaning job she could find, too, and it still wasn’t enough for them to shake the specter of poverty that haunted them and made them a mockery in town. No matter that they were hard-working and sober. Shawn’s drunken father, in and out of trouble, made Shawn a constant target for derision at school.

This is a classic coming-of-age story, about a young man searching for a way to escape his home town. You can read the Look…

#FREE eBook June 27 through July 1, 2017
Grab a copy of this must-read prequel to the author’s novel DOG BONE SOUP today at Your Amazonhttp://amzn.to/1T5tMAZ today!

From the Reviews

Pure Trash—A Nostalgic Gem!

“A nostalgic gem – I was swept away from the first paragraph and thoroughly enjoyed this skillfully written short story. This author knows how to paint mind-pictures and flavour them with taste, smell, and sound.” ~WJ Scott, Children’s Author, Fairy Dust.

A Compelling Story

“Having read Dog Bone Soup from which this short story was drawn, I figured it would be a review of what I already read. I must say it was, but to a greater degree, this short story caused me to focus on the message. Two boys, Shawn and Willie, were children of dirt-poor parents. The story covers the day that the boys are going to take their bikes to town, trade in some bottles, and enjoy some candy. In short, a day free of worry and care. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be. A small accident causes the boys to have to face the reality of prejudice that will no doubt haunt them their entire lives.

“The author tells this story with the realism that causes the reader believe they are witnessing the action personally. One’s heart goes out to the boys and their mother for having to endure ridicule and shame only because they were born into poverty.

“I recommend this short story to anyone who wants to preview Dog Bone Soup. It is well worth the time.” ~John Howell, author

Book summary

PURE TRASH(Historical Fiction/Ages 10-adult)In this short story adventure set in New England in the 1950s, two young boys set out on a Saturday adventure you won’t want to miss! Experience the joy of a carefree Saturday and the blistering pain of feeling not quite good enough as you hop on a bike and ride into town with two delightful young boys who find adventure at every turn. Shawn and Willie Daniels live in the woods with no indoor water or plumbing. Dad spends most of his hard-earned money on beer. Prejudice, class division, alcoholism, poverty, injustice, and bullying are cleverly woven into this 1950s adventure short. PURE TRASH is the short story prequel to DOG BONE SOUP, Stevens’s début novel DOG BONE SOUP.

About the author

Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies—an endangered species (and for milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).

Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP—coming-of-age story and family drama set in 1950s and 60s New England.

The first update is for romantic suspense author Kim Cox whose latest release Before We Wed (Style and Profile Series Book 2) is on pre-order from Amazon for July 27th.

About the book

Just as Sarah Martin and Jon Clayton say their vows, the police crash the wedding to arrest the groom. Jon is terrified and Sarah is heartbroken. Thankfully, their friends support them emotionally and help find Jon an excellent attorney.

When evidence of John’s guilt is found, he swears he’s innocent. But how can he prove it? As if an arrest and pending trial aren’t bad enough, his ex-wife refuses to let him near their seven-year-old son, and has their shared custody agreement rescinded as part of his bail agreement. But when Jon-Jon is injured, Jon breaks the agreement and his bail is revoked.

Sarah sees strange men in Jon’s business one night. One follows her home and…

Book Promo – DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens – ONLY 99¢ / 99p for a Limited Time

True-to-life Americana

“DOG BONE SOUP is a fascinating literary study of poverty and family dysfunction in the 1950s & 1960s. It is written in a fast-flowing, entertaining style that kept my turning pages, one after another.

“Despite the odds stacked against them, two brothers—Shawn Daniels and Willie—manage to survive, escaping the rants of a drunken abusive father and the hardships of rural life, cutting out on daily adventures and misadventures to the likes of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry. DOG BONE SOUP is about making the best of what you have. It’s a story about survival, struggle, and the human spirit—rising above it all. As with all great literature, it is underscored with life lessons particularly memorable to this generation…” –Frank Scozzari, author

Grab a copy today!

DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens

Literary/General Fiction

Sale dates through June 30, 2017

Sale price of book: $0.99 (Regularly $3.99)

BUY THE BOOK

About the author

Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies—an endangered species (and for milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).

Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP, a Boomer’s coming-of-age story set in 1950s and 60s New England.

DOG BONE SOUP is not only the title of Bette A. Stevens’s debut novel; it ranks high among the paltry meals that the book’s protagonist, Shawn Daniels, wants to forget. Plodding through mounting snow and battling howling winds, Shawn is ready to leave it all behind—living in poverty, Dad’s drinking, life in foster care, the divorce, the bullies…. Travel with Shawn Daniels through the guts and the glories of life in DOG BONE SOUP, a Boomer’s coming-of-age saga. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but mostly you’ll be glad you read it.